


The Verb "To Go"

by eponine119



Category: Lost
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, Ficlet, Flash Sideways Verse, Gen, Threesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29727414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eponine119/pseuds/eponine119
Summary: Unrelated drabbles and ficlets about Juliet
Relationships: Juliet Burke/Goodwin Stanhope, Juliet Burke/Jack Shephard, Richard Alpert/Juliet Burke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Juliet and Rachel, what happened to you?

**Author's Note:**

> These are new, but most prompts came from the 2009 and 2010 fic battles at the LJ community Lost Squee. Please use the chapter index to find specific stories/pairings/etc.

Juliet and Rachel, what happened to you?  
June 12, 2020  
drabble

It's late, dark, raining, surrounded by whispering jungle. 

She sees her sister and like an arrow to the heart, she knows. 

“Oh, Rachel,” she sighs. 

She is soaked but Rachel is dry. Her lips move with silent warning. 

“What happened to you?” Juliet asks, but she knows. Ben lied, and this is her fault. She didn't go back, she stayed on the beach, and this is her punishment. She'll never get off the island now. 

She looks at her sister, knowing that if she blinks, she'll be gone. All she's wanted is to see her again. But not like this. 

(end)


	2. Hurley, Juliet, chocolate

Hurley/Juliet, chocolate  
June 15, 2020  
drabble

Behind them, the group debates her fate. She watches the water. Hurley can't stand silence. 

Something rustles, then he asks. “You like chocolate?”

She turns her head with deliberate calm and meets his eyes. “I love chocolate.” 

“Apollo bars?” 

“Are my favorite.” She's not even lying. 

He takes a deep breath, deciding. Then passes her the candy bar. He has another one, for himself. 

“Thanks.” She takes a bite and it's so good she could cry. 

“Always helps me feel better on a bad day,” he admits. 

It's been a series of bad days. “Think they'll let me stay?” 

“Yeah.” 

(end)


	3. Edmund/Juliet, how the marriage ended

Edmund/Juliet, how the marriage ended  
July 5, 2020  
drabble

It began in foolishness. A conference, in Vegas; a bottle of champagne; the words “Why the hell not?” 

Juliet’s always been a bit impulsive.

It foundered in pain and lies. An empty bed; an STD, curable by antibiotic prescription; the words “You’ve always been worthless.” 

Juliet’s always been a little bit blind. 

It’s over because he says so. Her suitcases, by the door; a decree; the words “You won’t get anything.” 

Juliet’s never known what to do with her freedom. 

It ended with her. A successful experiment; corporate flattery; the words “hit by a bus.” 

Juliet can’t run far enough.

End


	4. Islands (Jack/Juliet, sidewaysverse)

Islands (Jack/Juliet, sidewaysverse)   
July 12, 2020  
drabble

Juliet has always dreamed of islands. Lush green jungle and salty water.

Growing up, she hates the beach. The sun burns; sharks and jellyfish threaten.

They honeymoon in Hawaii. She can’t breathe, panicking without understanding why. 

On a Waikiki balcony, Jack tells her to come out. She can’t. 

“You’ve never been afraid of heights before,” he says. 

“I’m not afraid of heights, Jack. I’m afraid of falling.” 

He hates to fly; he should understand. He doesn’t. 

They head back to LA three days early. He drinks tiny airplane bottles and pretends calm. It’s already the beginning of their end.

(end)


	5. Jack/Juliet, baking muffins

Jack/Juliet, baking muffins  
July 13, 2020  
drabble 

“I brought you muffins.” 

He gives her an uneasy smile. He's used to being her prisoner. “You're always bringing me food. Come in. They're probably better warm.” 

“And with a glass of milk,” she agrees. 

“You know those are basically cake.” 

“The box said muffins, not cake.” 

They smile at each other. 

They sit at the table in his yellow house and he ignores the camera in the corner. She watches his reaction, but he's so tired of being watched. “They're pretty good.” 

“You're a terrible liar, Jack.” 

“You'd know.” He likes the hurt on her face, and wonders why. 

(end)


	6. Juliet/Richard, rebound

Juliet/Richard, rebound  
July 26, 2020  
drabble

“Can I – do you need a ride home, Dr. Burke?” 

She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. He may have killed her ex. At her suggestion. She feels like she should say thank you. 

“Okay.” She feels drunk with her tears and freedom. 

Mittelos Bioscience actually wants her. 

Nobody's wanted her in such a long time. 

And he is Mittelos Bioscience. 

She hasn't been with anyone since Ed. He made her used to rejection. 

“I don't want to be alone tonight,” she says. 

He looks at her with those impossibly dark eyes, nods and turns off the car. 

(end)


	7. Jack/Juliet, spaceship

Jack/Juliet, spaceship  
July 29, 2020  
drabble

There's no orange juice for this ride. 

Juliet feels like she's in outer space instead of a submarine. The walls close in, with the pressure of unbreathable death a hull away. 

She expects a trick. A twist ending. The hatch will open onto seawater and green mountains: the island. 

Jack, sitting beside her, says nothing. He must miss them, the castaways. He didn't know them long, but they were all he had. 

Now he is all she has. 

He's already planning his return, to save them all. 

So really, she's alone. Again. Never to return. The spaceship is her loneliness.

(end)


	8. Juliet, Kate, cages

Juliet, Kate, cages  
August 1, 2020  
ficlet

“What happened when you went back?” 

Kate gives Juliet a long look.”It's funny. You're the only one who's asked. But I suppose you'll tell him.” 

“I'm not asking because he wanted me to,” Juliet says. “We don't work like that.” 

“How do you work?” Kate arches an eyebrow. 

Juliet doesn't want to do this. The snarky rivalry over a man. It's not high school. They've all made their choices, even Sawyer. “I was just curious,” she says. “I don't have an agenda.” 

Kate gives her another look. Juliet smiles a little, because she knows what she's thinking. Juliet used to always have an agenda. She wonders when that stopped. Was it before they landed in the 70s, or after? She doesn't remember, but she knows it was exhausting. She's a lot happier now. 

Or she was. 

“You want to know if they put me in jail,” Kate says. Juliet remains neutral. Kate flashes a bitter sort of smile. “There were special circumstances.” 

Juliet raises her eyebrows and nods. 

“What about you? Have you ever been behind bars?” 

“Once,” Juliet says mildly. She glances at Kate and knows she's piqued her interest. She could leave Kate hanging. It seems only fair. 

“You aren't going to tell me,” Kate says, and Juliet can't decide if she sounds disappointed.

“It was because of you, actually,” Juliet says. “Jack, and you and James. When I shot a man to save your lives. So you could escape.” She watches to see if Kate even remembers that. But of course she does. 

“They put you in one of the cages?” Kate's toughness never quite covers when she's upset. 

“The cell where we'd been holding Jack. They moved him to one of the cages,” Juliet says. “It was a long time ago.” 

“How did you like it?” Kate asks. 

Juliet finds it interesting. That she's still angry, even after three years. But then, Juliet doesn't think it's the cages that Kate's angry about. 

“We all have cages, Kate,” she says. “The prisons we make for ourselves are worse than the real thing.” 

Kate's eyes narrow, and Juliet expects her to ask what the hell she means by that. But she doesn't. Because Kate knows. 

(end)


	9. Harper/Goodwin/Juliet, whispers

Harper/Goodwin/Juliet, whispers  
August 16, 2020  
drabble

Having a threesome with your shrink and her husband, your lover, is a bad idea. 

Juliet wonders what Freud would say. Maybe she can get up and walk out. She wonders what's going to happen in her appointment on Thursday. 

It was Goodwin's idea, of course. A real time-saver. Maybe he thought they'd like each other. That it'd be hot. 

Juliet mostly watches. She refuses to touch Harper, and barely touches Goodwin. 

The two of them whisper and look at her. Laughing, or planning. Time for her to go. 

When Ben finds out, he'll probably kill her. She can't wait. 

(end)


	10. Ben and Juliet, drawing lines

Ben and Juliet, drawing lines  
August 17, 2020  
drabble

“If you do this, there's no turning back,” he threatens, to keep her in line. It's always worked. Poor Juliet, she has so much to lose. 

But today is different. She sets her jaw stubbornly when she looks at him. “Fine,” she says, and dares turn her back on him. He waits for a hesitation that doesn't come. 

The next day, as she waits for the boat to take her to her assignment on Hydra, he leans in close. “This is what happens to people who don't follow orders.” 

She glares, and it's delightful. He could not be more pleased.

(end)


	11. Ethan, Juliet, he recognizes her from the photographs

Ethan, Juliet, he recognizes her from the photographs  
August 17, 2020  
drabble

“You look familiar,” Ethan says with a friendly smile. Juliet shrugs uninterestedly. 

He finds himself searching the faces in the old Dharma class photos in the rec room, but that's not it. It doesn't make sense, and she's not there. 

It's his mom's old album. He frowns when he finds it, the picture of the New Year's party. 1977. Straight hair blond hair, undeniably her, lovestruck eyes focused on a long-haired guy with deep dimples.

“Everyone has a doppelganger,” his mother says, with a mysterious smile when he asks her. 

She's Juliet's friend again, but she goes by Amelia now. 

(end)


	12. Moving (Juliet & Rachel)

Moving  
October 19, 2020  
ficlet

Rachel comes by with pizza. She sits on the floor next to Juliet. They eat slices out of box and survey the living room. “Made pretty good progress,” she says. 

“I'm almost done,” Juliet says. “I'm a practically a pro. I am really, really good at this.” 

Rachel shakes her head. “You still don't label your boxes.”

“I have a system,” Juliet informs her. “I know exactly what I'm doing.” Then she laughs with a note of hysteria and starts to put her hands over her face, except they're covered in pizza grease. “I have no idea what I'm doing. I swore I was never doing this again. No boxes, no moving.” 

“Who are you to say no when destiny is calling?” Rachel asks. 

“I'm not sure I'd go that far.” Juliet looks at her sister. 

“You're doing the right thing,” Rachel assures her. “Finish your pizza. And then make me a promise.” 

“What's that?” 

“Label the boxes. You'll never remember what's in them six months from now.” 

“Doesn't matter what's in them,” Juliet says. “I promise I'll be home.” 

(end)


	13. Juliet, I want to fall hopelessly in love

Juliet, I want to fall hopelessly in love  
November 3, 2020  
double drabble

They're too old for such games, but they sit together on Juliet's canopy bed to plan their futures. 

“Six kids.” 

“I'm not having any.” 

“I want to live in apartment in a big city by the water.” 

“I want to live... on a tropical island.” 

“You're going to get so sunburned.” 

“I don't care,” Juliet declares. “And I'm never, ever getting married. Ever.” 

“Me either,” Rachel agrees. 

“Six kids though?” 

“I'll have lots of lovers.” 

Juliet starts to blush, and Rachel laughs at her. “I want to fall hopelessly in love.” 

“With some guy you refuse to marry? What's the point?” 

“I just want it, okay?” She can't explain it. She wants her heart to be more full than her head, for once. And she wants him to love her back. So much he'd never even think of leaving. “I want to fall like it's a bottomless pit. Like Alice down the rabbit hole. So deep there's no way out.” 

Rachel looks at her, and Juliet knows she ruined the game, but she doesn't care. She wants it more than anything. 

Juliet also knows that she hardly ever gets what she wants. And that's what ruins the game for her. 

(end)


	14. Juliet, leaving this place

Juliet, leaving this place  
January 1, 2021

It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last. 

The waves are constant. They could wash her away, if she let them. 

The first time, Juliet stayed for love and selfless sacrifice. Your choice: Ben's words echoed in her head for six years. 

The second time was snatched away. More than once. The heat of an explosion, of a fever, of never being quite good enough. Never being the first choice. 

The third time was a mistake, but not. She put everyone else first, and she got left behind. Karma for everything she'd done. 

Now, the fourth time, it's her choice again. She could go. She should go. She had decided to go. Every possibility of the verb “to go.” But he smiled at her, and it was already too late. 

This won't be any different.

Every time she tries to leave this island, she gets her heart broken instead. 

End


End file.
